Cats and Pumpkin

I am new to this forum. I have a question for the group:

My 1 year old neutered male cat had diarrhea for 2 weeks. It was bad, all over the laundry room many, many times a day. He has had a history of loose bowels and now he is not eating at all. I took him to the vet 2 weeks ago and she offered only the food additive for putting the bugs back in system and gave an injection of atropine to stop the diarrhea. Now he is anorexic. Eating only the liquid portion of his canned food. I picked up people, Bumble Bee, tuna his all time favorite treat. He sniffed it and walked away. I picked up canned mackerel an oily greasy fish and he turned his nose up at it. At the vets today she did blood work and it's not good. His liver is failing and his right kidney is inflamed. She suggested pumpkin for him to help him get back to eating. They have put him on a mix of antibiotic, prednisone and some other medication, 2 xs a day. She said if this does not clear up she will recommend he be euthanized as this is that severe. 

I am quite pissed because 2 weeks ago she asked if he was under stress or if I was. Did I change anything in the household and so on. I wanted them to do bloods then but the vet decided to give rabies and the combo vaccination instead of treating the illness at hand. I am so upset with them. Then of course they held me hostage because I did not have the $113.00 to pay the vet bill. I am on SSI and had to buy tires for my car this month. I am flat broke and thank goodness my daughter could lend me the money. She is telling me that there is some kind of problem with his red blood cells that it looks like a genetic immunological problem. I say if she would have taken the time to listen to me 2 weeks ago and given the proper meds then we would not be in such a critical juncture here. Covering for herself I imagine.

Who give vaccinations to a sick animal? I think that there is a lack in the standard of care in that facility and I should look for a new vet. I have another male cat in the house and he is just 9 months old. He cannot understand why his big brother won't play. It breaks my heart. I had a similar experience last year with his brother and after $500.00 he didn't make it. Who does this to people? That was my property tax money, which by the way I still didn't pay. 

So she said to try pumpkin but how much do you give an animal who is not eating his normal food or treats (tuna)? By the way I got a small can and he ate about a tablespoon this evening. And at dinner he jumped up on the table to survey the chicken and baked potatoes I offered him chicken from my plate which he smelled licked but did not eat. That's unusual he hasn't done that since a kitten. Could eating the pumpkin have increased appetite? I just don't want to upset his delicate state but if it's the only thing he is eating, then what? How much is too much?

Are you syringe feeding him? lt's very important that he is eating something, anything at this point. lf he won't eat on his own, you need to "force" feed him.

What is his normal diet? 

Thanks for your timely reply. Having raised cats for over 20 years I am fully aware of how quickly cats can go down hill. I am spoon feeding him his canned food. He sniffs, licks for a while and may or may not actually take full mouthfuls. I am able to slip food in with the spoon but not enough, he fights me-growels at me, hisses, and so on. I have been doing this since last Friday, every 3to 4 hours daytime and naturally not as much at night. I am at a lose really. I feel like the vet just pushed us away. I tried to tell her 2 weeks ago he was loosing weight and spoke w/the tech. about skipping vaccines (was 3 weeks early for rabies booster anyway) and going with blood work and or xray. The vet is the one that decided on vacinating instead. I figured that any food I can get him to eat is the issue worry about the consequences afterwards. Food and drink ASAP and as much as possible. Fats are best right now as well.

The vet cautioned against syringe feeding due to chance of aspiration. I am using a syringe how else do I force feed a cat? So, I am taking the juices from the canned food with some of the "meat" smashed into the juice. I have him on a new baby schedule every 4 hrs. 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm and so on. He runs from me but I cover his exits.
His brother had a dysentery type illness when I "bought" them from the pet store. I cinsider it a rescue because they were on clearance sale, the pet shop was a puppy mill type place. I took both cats, brothers because I could not split up the 6 month olds, not after all that time.
After a horrid 2 week struggle of force feedings with the kitten, Magic, died in my arms at 2am struggling to free himself from my force feeding. I sat on my kitchen floor holding this poor baby, crying for the better part of an hour.
I can't let Mischief go this way. He is a tender gentle soul he deserves better.

Forget the pumpkin unless there is something going on that I am not understanding. You need to take your cat to another vet right now. If you can't do that due to the recent vet bill try to find one that will work with you. There is also a section on this site on what to do If you cannot afford vet care. There is nothing anyone here can do to help you. You need a good vet. As for force feeding him, he needs to see a vet right away. One that won't vaccinate him when he is ill.

Okay, you need to stop the force feeding if it is stressing him out to where he is growling and hissing etc and you have to block his exit. Also if your other cat died during a feeding it isn't a good idea to feed this one that way. You are going to create a food aversion in him and you don't want to do that. With the diarrhea I would say that fats are not a good idea right now. He really just needs to go to an emergency hospital now.

Hi Sharon .. I am sorry to read about what is going on with your kitty. A very unsettling situation. I would agree with Quiet that the force feeding is not a good idea if he is fighting this. A feeding tube would be safer, if necessary. He may also need some fluids due to the diarrhea that he has been experiencing.

I would also agree that you should get this kitty to another vet, as soon as possible. One that will be more in tune with what is going on. Administering vaccinations when a cat is sick is a very dangerous thing to do. Here is a link to Tanya's CRF site that discusses renal failure in cats. This particular page discusses anaemia : http://www.felinecrf.org/anaemia.htm, which will give you a good overview and some hope.

If your cat is feeling stressed, then this can get in the way of wanting to eat, so I would work on maintaining a calm environment, and try different foods to entice him to eat. As for the pumpkin, you can give him a teaspoon with each feeding, if he is still experiencing diarrhea, but it is really important that you get him eating foods with calories. If he is licking liquids from foods, then perhaps he will eat baby food. You can purchase baby foods containing meat, but stay clear of those that contain onions or garlic. Try fancy feast or cat entrees in a pouch with gravy, anything that you think he might eat.

Sending many positive vibes for your kitty and you  

I have never force fed a cat...not saying it is wrong, I just have not ever done it.  I usually try chicken baby food or Hills AD. 

oneandahalfcats said:

 
Hi Sharon .. I am sorry to read about what is going on with your kitty. A very unsettling situation. I would agree with Quiet that the force feeding is not a good idea if he is fighting this. A feeding tube would be safer, if necessary. He may also need some fluids due to the diarrhea that he has been experiencing.

I would also agree that you should get this kitty to another vet, as soon as possible. One that will be more in tune with what is going on. Administering vaccinations when a cat is sick is a very dangerous thing to do. Here is a link to Tanya's CRF site that discusses renal failure in cats. This particular page discusses anaemia : http://www.felinecrf.org/anaemia.htm, which will give you a good overview and some hope.

If your cat is feeling stressed, then this can get in the way of wanting to eat, so I would work on maintaining a calm environment, and try different foods to entice him to eat. As for the pumpkin, you can give him a teaspoon with each feeding, if he is still experiencing diarrhea, but it is really important that you get him eating foods with calories. If he is licking liquids from foods, then perhaps he will eat baby food. You can purchase baby foods containing meat, but stay clear of those that contain onions or garlic. Try fancy feast or cat entrees in a pouch with gravy, anything that you think he might eat.

Sending many positive vibes for your kitty and you

 

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I agree!  Vets have always advised against giving vaccines to sick cats!  Your cat needs a good vet!  Don't know what is available in your area, but you should be able to find something less expensive.  Force feeding will upset a cat and even a small kitten.  If you go to tube feeding or subq fluids make sure you have someone help.

lt seems l'm being misinterpreted with the "force" feeding - quotation marks.

You said your cat is anorexic and not eating. The cat absolutely needs to eat. Personally l use a syringe, but it doesn't stress my cats out to be fed by syringe. Whatever way you choose to feed the cat, he must eat.

By "force" feeding l mean that the option to not eat must be removed. Others have offered ways of force feeding other than syringe. lf the spoon feeding works for you, make sure he gets at least half his normal calories each day so he has a chance of getting better.

Sending vibes to your kitty   

Dump the spoon and get a feeding syringe from your vet or pharmacy. These syringes are fatter so hold more food. If the tip is not big enough to let out enough food cut the end of the tip off until it is large enough to allow more food to come out. Dilute the canned food with water and suck into the feeding syringe.

Line one of your small sinks with soft blankets. Put your kitty in the sink on his back or side and begin feeding. He may not like it but you will get far more food in him than if you leave the amount to your cat deciding how much to eat. And yes, you will be forcing but though he may not like it he must get more food to recover. This needs to be done numerous times a day not just once or twice.

I have had great success with this approach. Prayers for your success and courage.

Super old thread but I wondered what happened to the OP's cat. It might have been FIP.

Yes, the thread is from 2014, and often we don't ever know what happened, especially if the cat later dies and people don't come back to share that or post in the Crossing The Bridge forum. The original thread starter only posted three times and has not posted again in ANY thread since 7/10/14.